


A Series of (Mostly) Unrelated Events

by The_Obsessive_Void



Series: Strange Folks, Strange Love [1]
Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: All over the place time-wise, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Series, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:01:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29487162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Obsessive_Void/pseuds/The_Obsessive_Void
Summary: My attempt at a daily prompt from a single line of dialogue, provided by the lovely @coffin-prompts from Tumblr. A series of mostly unrelated events, I'll be jumping back and forth in their relationship as the prompt sees fit, though they’ll all mostly be centered around Juuzou and Hanbee, with supporting characters where needed.
Relationships: Abara Hanbee/Suzuya Juuzou
Series: Strange Folks, Strange Love [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2165859
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	A Series of (Mostly) Unrelated Events

**A Series of (Mostly) Unrelated Events**

**“Out of all the seats, and you willingly choose the one beside me? Should I be concerned?”**

  
  


* * *

  
  


Suzuya Juuzou didn’t often ponder things. He honestly thought people took life way too seriously, looking too deeply into every little innocuous thing for some meaning behind what lay on the surface. It was why he got a lot of flak for his office etiquette, among a plethora of other reasons. People always  _ talked  _ about how they wish people were more honest and direct, but when he did just that, he would inevitably end up receiving a scolding for being “rude” or “inconsiderate.” Some coworkers even called him “a fucking soulless pyscopath!” How was that for office etiquette? 

Still, that didn’t mean that he was as oblivious as everyone seemed to think he was. Just because he walked around carefree through the CCG headquarters didn’t mean that he was  _ actually  _ not paying attention. Some of the older investigators noticed his eyes scanning every room he walked into, sizing up every person his gaze fell upon, but the only people who managed to live to relatively old age were usually pretty eccentric themselves, or at least didn’t give a shit anymore. It was the younger Investigators, only a decade or so older than him, who didn’t know any better. 

He paid attention to plenty of things. He wouldn’t be breathing to this day otherwise. He noticed the Investigators with half empty cups of coffee every day at the start of the day in the office, having stayed overnight for the millionth time. He noticed the people who always slunk into work late, the married man with mismatched socks and a tie that didn’t fit his outfit, the way people’s eyes almost always narrowed in recognition before flitting away quickly. 

Despite the rumours, for he certainly noticed the way people would subtly whisper to one another the moment they thought they were out of sight, he wasn’t as socially inept and self-absorbed as they thought him either. He noticed the way people in the office would look at one another, when two people would both just coincidentally slip away to use the restroom, even saw an affair once with an Investigator stepping out of a utility closet. 

Granted, they were right to assume he didn’t care. As long as they weren’t looking at him like that, it didn’t bother him, and even the former only mildly disgusted him. 

That wasn’t to say he didn’t care about anything at all. He had people who mattered, even if he’d never really said it aloud. Mr. Shinohara, for starters, even if he hadn’t realized it at the time. Then there was Sasaki, with all the sugary benefits their friendship came with. And, of course, his squad. 

It wasn’t like he cared for them in any particularly affectionate manner, but there was a sense of pride that had him actually feeling responsible for them, at least on the battlefield. He’d even gone out of his way to learn more about them! Granted, that mostly involved stalking them in secret on their days off, just casually strolling a fair few paces away. He needed to know who his squad was comprised of, if there were any weeds that needed to be culled. For the most part, it had been unnecessary and passed off as a one off day for everyone. 

Except, of course, for Hanbee Abara. For one, he proved especially problematic in a multitude of ways. Of all his squad mates, Abara had been the only one to realize he had been shadowed, much to Suzuya’s surprise. Instead of confronting him angrily as he would’ve expected a normal person would have, the man had seemingly wilted into himself in embarrassment, as if he’d been the one caught doing something he shouldn’t have. On the one hand, it spoke volumes of his situational awareness, a skill that would surely prove life saving for an investigator. On the other, it revealed Abara’s most crippling attribute, that being the utter fact that was possibly the worst pushover Suzuya had ever met. 

Tall, if a bit lanky, Hanbee wasn’t the worst in terms of physical strength, and Suzuya himself was a walking example of size or muscle not being the end all be all when it came to getting the job done. That only made the fact that the man all but froze like a startled rabbit whenever he so much as held his weapon. Though, even a rabbit had the instinct to bolt away from danger, whereas Hanbee merely took his quite literal beating during their sparring session which was meant to gauge his combat prowess. 

Suzuya had told him that very day that Hanbee wasn’t meant for field work, hell, didn’t even belong at the CCG. He hadn’t minced words back then, and he had certainly meant them when he said them. The man would go on to prove a brilliant detective, but utterly fail at every other and arguably the most important aspects of his job. Worthless with a blade, Hanbee proved to be more than just not helpful in a fight, but a liability in battle that Suzuya would have to pick up the slack for. It was a wonder nothing had ever forced him to decide between stopping a Ghoul or saving Abara, a thought that Juuzou would occasionally glumly ponder in the present day. 

The time had eventually come, through no less than a little push from Suzuya himself, where Hanbee had finally conquered his own limitations and leapt forward into combat, earning his role on the team. That had actually been a week ago, and Juuzou was still witnessing the ramifications of the revelation to this very moment. 

It wasn’t as if Abara had transformed over night, he’d be the first to admit that gentle giant was still more of an insult than an accolade, and he certainly wasn’t going any easier on his subordinate either. But still, Hanbee was seemingly coming into his own, in his own small ways. Where he once never lifted his eyes from the floor, he now occasionally peeked them up whenever someone addressed him. His training sessions, once which felt like bitter mockery, now performed with an almost religious fervor. Once, only the most direct and dire of commands from Suzuya would be met with a confident confirmation, whereas now he responded a bit assertively, if with a healthy dose of stammering still attached. 

What Juuzou noticed more than anything, however, was how much more the investigator lingered. Be it at the end of a mission briefing, a farewell from the office at the end of a day, or a meeting they were called into. 

What had to have been the most shocking acts of all though, was what he was currently witnessing, watching as Hanbee crossed the employee cafeteria with a paper bag in hand headed his way. 

Despite himself, Juuzou stared up with wide eyes as Hanbee was forced to repeat himself. 

“I-Is this seat taken after all, sir?” He stammered, holding eye contact for all of a second before his eyes dashed about to the side, looking anywhere but down at him. Suzuya almost couldn’t believe it, and spoke with a smile tugging at his lips.

“Out of all the seats, and you willingly choose the one beside me? Should I be concerned?” 

Of course, Hanbee was apologizing and doing his best to retreat back to wherever he took off to eat lunch alone as he normally did before Juuzo could even finish, but reluctantly sat down when Juuzou laughed at his reaction and all but demanded he sit down afterwards. The pale man was far too flustered to dare strike up a conversation after that, but Suzuya didn’t mind the silence, normally eating on his own anyways. If he sported a small smile for the rest of the lunch break that he normally didn’t, well, no one would know. 

* * *

  
  


**A/N: My attempt at a daily prompt from a single line of dialogue, provided by the lovely @coffin-prompts from Tumblr. A series of mostly unrelated events, I'll be jumping back and forth in their relationship as the prompt sees fit, though they’ll all mostly be centered around Juuzou and Hanbee, with supporting characters where needed.**


End file.
